Forensic evidence lost amid blast chaos
Print Edition
FORTY-EIGHT hours after the bomb blast in Bangkok, police appear to have few firm clues about who was responsible for the bloodiest attack the city has seen.
Making their job all the harder, crucial forensic evidence may have been lost or compromised in the chaotic aftermath of Monday evening’s attack.
The strongest evidence the police have so far is grainy CCTV footage of a man who left a backpack at the Erawan Shrine shortly before the explosion, which killed 20 people and injured more than 120.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for a “foreign” man, apparently basing this on the fair color of his skin, but senior officers disagreed over whether or not he was wearing a disguise.
Two other men seen in the CCTV footage are also suspects, police said, without giving details of their appearance.
Experts say the unprecedented scale of the attack suggested a possible link to groups such as Islamic State or al-Qaida, but police told reporters that they hadn’t been in contact with foreign counterparts or Interpol for help with their investigation.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha bristled when asked if his government, which was installed after a military coup last year, was seeking outside help.
“This incident happened in Thailand. It is Thailand. Why do we want other people to come in and investigate?” the former general told reporters.
A police spokesman gave conflicting information about the bomb’s components, first saying they were sourced in Thailand and then revising his statement to say it was not clear.
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